Hefty fines for two firms under OSH Act By Suriani Andokong

KOTA KINABALU: Two companies, dealing with construction and road work in Sabah, were fined by the Sessions Court here yesterday for separate charges under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act 1994.

Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamed fined the main contractor and its sub-contractor, who are from the same group of companies, RM40,000 and RM25,000 respectively, after their representatives admitted to their charges framed under Sections 17 (1) and 15 (2) (b), both of the said Act.

Each of the charges carries a fine of up to RM50,000 or a maximum jail term of two years, or both, upon conviction.

The charge against the main contractor stated that he had failed to ensure his or any other person, who are not their workers, would not be exposed to health and safety risks from their business while his subcontractor faced the charge of failing to take into account that there would be no risks to health when handling machinery and materials.

Because of their failures, they had caused the death of a 56-yearold driver who handled a mixer truck at a work site at Km 51 Jalan Kota Kinabalu-KeningauTenom on May 10, 2016.

In pleading for a lenient sentence, counsel Chin Teck Ming, who defended both the companies, urged the court to impose a fine of RM10,000 each on his clients on the grounds that these were their first offences and they had pleaded guilty which had saved the court’s time.

Chin explained that the incident happened due to soil conditions at the site and after that incident, the companies had upgraded their standard operating procedures in handling safety of the vehicles and machinery and the drivers at work sites to avoid any accident in future.

Apart from that, the counsel also submitted that the companies had assisted the deceased’s family in terms of financial assistance and other things like applying for compensation.

In reply, Occupational and Safety Department prosecuting officer Mohd Khairof Fais Abd Raop said that these offences were serious as someone had died due to the accident and a deterrent would serve as a lesson to would-be offenders in future to prioritise the safety and health of their staff.